Liquid-supply device



l Feb. 24, 1931. A. E. KRlcK LIQUID SUPPLY DEVICE n n n IatenteclFeb. 24, 1931 ujNl-TEDsTATEs PATENT orifice An'rnnn n. Knien, or". DANVrLLn, INDrANA, AssrGNon rro THE NATIONAL DRY Kinn coMrANY, `or INDIANAPQLIS, INDIANA, A conronafrionor INDIANA ,LIQUID-SUPPLY am@ `Applieatoixi led `October 14, 1927. `SerallNo.` 226,226.

In many instruments for indicating and/ or recording the relative humidity-of the air,

a .temperature-responsive element, such as a thermostat bulb, is covered with a wick which dips in` water and maintains `such temperature-'responsive element moist, so that the evaporation from the wick around such temperature-responsive element cools the latter to a temperature which isbelow the temperature of the air by an amount dependent upon the `relative humidity of the air and the consequent rate o f evaporation.

Considerable "diiiiculty has been experienced in maintaining the wicks properly Wet; VJfor ifthey supply too little moisture to the ltemperatere-responsive element the indication of Wetbul b temperature is too high, whileif they supplytoo much moisture the temperature-responsive element tends to take the temperature of the moisture itself rather than the tru-e wet-bulb temperature.

It is the object of my present Iinvention to provide a simple constrnetion for maintainsubstantially uniform the water level in apan, such as a pan in which the wick of a wet-bulb `temperature-responsive element dips; so that the errors of the temperatureresponsive element may be minimized, and so that any errors which may exist `will be substantially constant errors rather than errors which `fluctuate `by chance.`

In carrying out vmy invention, I` f.provide a wick on the temperature-responsive element, sueltas the thermostat bulb, in'any convenient way; and arrange such Wickso that it dips into water in a tank which is movable slightly up and down as the weight of the water 4in itfalllsbel'ow and rises above a predetermined value gand I control the supply of water to said tank by the movements oi the tank, so that when the Weight of ywater therein decreases below the 4predetermined value the tank risesto admit more water, and subsequently falls and shuts ott the water `supply when theweight of `water therein exceeds such predetermined value. 4In this way, a substantially `constant water level may be maintained,within fairly close limits, and the moisture Whichthe .wick `supplies -to the temperature-responsive` device .may :be

maintained at `the proper value. -I prc'l'er to make the water-controlling valve one which tends to open fairly wide when it once starts to open, instead `of merely cracking, so

that there will be a fairly prompt turning f on and oli' of the water.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention: Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal view through a device embodying my invention, showing the tiltablymounted tank into which the wick onthe bulb of a wet-bulb thermostat dips, and a. valve control-ling the y water supply' to the tank and in turn controlled by the tilting of `the tank; Fig. 2 `is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l, showing the bulb-supporting device used for supporting the bulbs of two pairs of thermostats; Fig. 3 is a section on the line-B of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of the upper right-hand corner of Fig. l, showing `the valve construction on a larger scale, and with Athe valve open instead of closed as in Fig. l; and 5 is a View similar to Fig. 2, showing the bulb-supporting `device as used for supporting the bulbs of one pair oi thcrmostats.

The temperature-responsive devices `to which my invention is applicable may be ot any desired character, but is most conveniently an indicating or recording thermostat haw ingl a bulb which is maintained wet by a suitable wick. In the drawings, I have shown only the bulb l() ot such a thermostat, without showing as a whole the indicating or recording instrument et which such thermostat bulb i forms part, since such recording or indicating instrument may be oi' ao many ditifcrcnt types. "Usually the wctbulb thermostat is one ol a pair ot thermostats, one wet bulb and one dry-bulb; and sometimes it is desirable to ifi for such screws 12. rhe bracket 11 has anV outwardly extending arm at the top, containing a pair of notches tor receiving two thermostat bulbs 10 and 10a and adapted to support such bulbs in Vhorizontal position. If only two such bulbs are used, the bulb 10 would be a wet-bulb thermostat, and the bulb 1Ga a vdry-bulb thermostat; in which case they. would` be clamped in their notches 1n the horizontal Varm of the bracket 11', by a cor# respondingly notchedclamping bar 14 which overlies the two thermostat bulbs and is attached to said bracket arm by a central attaching screw 15, as is shown in Fig. l5, It there'are two pairs of thermostats, the thermostat bulbs 10 and 10? would both be wetbulbs, each with itsf wickg'- and vthere-would then be two dry-bulb thermostats having bulbs 10c and 10d, as indicatedin Fig. 2.

i When these two pairs of thermostats are used,

the clamping plate 14 is ynot attached to the horizontal arm of the bracket 11, but instead there is a member 16y which has a double notched z horizontal i portion and a double notched vertical portion, the former taking the place of the clamping plate 14 in Fig. 5 and being attached to the horizontal arm ot the bracket 11 bythe screw 15 as shown in Fig. 2, and the latter being a supporting arm in which thetwo thermostat bulbs 10 and 10d are clamped by the clamping plate14 and l a second attaching screw15a. ,Thus the clamping plate;14 1sl used to co-operate directly with the horizontal arm of the bracket 11 when only onepair of thermostats is used,

. but to co-operate with the vertical arm of the member 16 if two used.

T he bulb of eaoh-.wet-bulb thermostat, which is the'bulb 10 in Figs. 1' and 5 and the bulbs 10 and 10" in Fig. 2, is overlaid by a wick 20, in the usual manner of wet-bulb thermostats; and such wick, or veach ol suoli pairs of tiermos'tats are wicks, hangs down from the associated ther suitable valve-26 may be clamped in place.,

rlhe member 24 and clamping plate 25vare provided with complementary notches to receive the hexagonal end portions of the lvalve 26. Such valve is connected at its receiving end to a water-supply pipe 27, and at itsv dis! charge end to an outlet pipe 28 which extends downward into ythe tank 21 near its pivoted endly The valve 26 is of the type known as a whistle valve. As mounted here, the valve proper is pressed to its seat `by a spring 29, which is assisted in holding the valve member against its seat by the vpressure oi the Ywater supply in the pipe 2 7. The Vvalve stem i 30 extends downward through thevalve casing, and its lower end co-operates with an operating arm 31 beneath 1t. Y This operating arm is' part of themember 22. ,In order to make certain that such co-operation is always the sameweven though the parts are taken apartv and put back together again, there are ears V3,2 providedfon the casing of the whistle valve 25,Y as is customary in such .-valves,.a-nd these ears .alsonreceive the pivot yp1n`23. This. not only, serves to position the parts properly, but also serves as an addi- :tional support Jfor carrying the load of the Ytank 21 andthe watertherein. V

The other or unpivoted end ofthe tank 21 isfreeto move upfand down', as shown by the full-line and dotted-line positions in Fig. Such-'vertical swingingyis limited and guided, however, by a suit-able finger 35 eX- tending .outffrom the bottom vof the main bracket 11 below the tank 21, and by a guide lfinger 36 extending downwardfromV an intermediate part of such bracket into the/tank 21. The linger 36 guides the ymovement of thetank y21, and prevents such tank from being laterally displaced towardand from the ,wall V13; and the vertical movement of the left-'hand end: (Fig. 1)01 the tank is limited vto the play between the lower. linger 35 and the horizontalv undenface of the bracket 11 at theupper end of the guide-arm 36.

Thesweight of the water in the tank 21 tends to move its lefthand end downward. To counter-balance this, I provide a weightsupporting arm @extending to the right (Fig. 1) from-the pivoted end of lthe tank. This arm'40 is attached to the under side of the .tank vby screws 41, and carries a counterweight 42 which may be shifted to dilicerent positions along such armand clamped in any desired position by a clamping screw 43.

If desired, the tank 21 may be provided with a drain cock 45. V

j In operation, the countorweight 42A is adjusted so that such counterweight overcomes the weight of the water .in the tank and tilts ythe left-hand end of the ltank' upwardv when the level ot such water falls below a prede-y termined height in the tank as ar result of evaporation of such water. 'Wlhen this occurs, the arm 31 pushes the valve siem '8O upward. and lets water flow'lirom the pipe 27 to the pipe 28 into the tank. Thisiraises the level yof the wat-er in the tank, until the weight of suclrwater overcomes the counterweight "42; whereupon the left-hand end of the tank 21 is'tilted downward until stopped by the stop'ingerv 35, land lets the'ivalve'stem 30 n move 'downwardby thelspring 29'to shut olip IUD lio

the supply of water to the tank. In this way, the water level in the tank may be kept between certain limits, automatically, and the limits may be suiiiciently close together so that variation in the water level between such limits does notmaterially aiiect the supplying of `water by the wicks 2O to the bulbs of the wet-bulb thermostats.

In this operation, when the water-controlling valve is closed, the water pressure as sists the spring 29 in holding the valve member proper on its seat. As soon as the lefthand end of the tank starts upward, however, and starts to raise the valve-stem 30, which permits some water to pass through the valve; which relieves to some extent the unbalanced water-pressure on the top ot' the valve disk, and thus lets such valve move promptly to wide open position. Similarly, when the left-hand end of the tank 21 starts to tilt downward, and thus starts to lower the valve stem 30, the water pressure tends to build up on top of the valve disk, to assist the spring 29 in moving such valve promptly to its seat.

taining it wet, a water-tank into which said wick dips, saidtank being movable up and down relative to said wick and being provided with means tending to move it upward when the weight of the water in the tank falls below a predetermined value and to let it move downward when such weight of water exceeds a predetermined value, and a watersupplying pipe supplying said tank and provided with a Valve, said valve being arranged to be controlled by said tank movements so that it opens when the tank tilts upward and closes when the tank tilts downward, said valve being arranged so that the pressure of the water tends to close it.

2. In combination, a tiltably mounted water-tank, a counterweight associated with said tank and arranged to tilt the tank upward when the weight of water therein falls below a predetermined value and to let the tank tilt downward when the weight of water therein exceeds a predetermined value, waterw supplying means for supplying water to said tank and controlled by said tank movements, a stationary bracket for supporting said tank, said bracket being provi-ded with means for supporting al thermostat bulb and with a stop limiting tank-movement, a wick overlying said thermostat bulb and dipping into the water in said tank, a clamping plate which may cosoperate with said bracket to hold said thermostat bulb in place, and an intermediate member which may be used in place of said clamping plate to hold said thermostat bulb in place and may serve as a support for an additional thermostatbulb and to cooperate with the first-named clamping plate in holding said additional thermostat bulb.

3. In combination, a valve having a.` casing provided with inlet and outlet openings, a valve scat separating said openings, a valve member located on that side of said valve seat nearest sai-d inlet opening and movable toward and away from said valve seat to close and open said valve, a tank adapted to receive liquid discharged from said outlet opening, said tank being movable up and down and being provided with means tending to move it upward when the weight ot the water in the tank falls below a predetermined value and to let it move downward when such weight of water exceeds a predetermined value, and means operatively connecting said tank and said valve member whereby upward movement of said tank will force said valve member from its seat against the liquid pr-essure in said valve casing.

4. In combination with a wet-bulb temperature responsive instrument havinga wick, a movable tank for containing a supply ot' liquid into which said wick dips, and means biasing said tank `for movement in a direction to raise the liquid level on said wick, said tank being arranged so that its weight and the weight of the liquid it contains oppose said biasing means, whereby said tank may move under the iniiuence of said biasing means to maintain substantially constant the liquid level on said wick as the quantity and weight of liquid in said tank decreases.

5. The invention set forth in claim 4 with the addition of means for supplying liquid to said tank, and a control device operated by tank movements for controlling the supply of liquid to the tank.

6. In combination, a stationary bracket, a water-tank movably supported from said bracket, said bracket being provided with means for supporting the bulb of a temperature-responsive instrument and with a stop for limiting movement of the tank, a wick associated with said bulb and dipping into liquid in the tank, and means biasing said tank for movement in a direction to raise the liquid level on said wick, said tank being ar anged so that the weight of the liquid it contains opposes said biasing means.

7. The invention set forth in claim 6 with the addition of means for supplying liquid to said tank, and a control device operated by tank movements for controlling the supply of liquid to said tank.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 7th day of October, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven.

ARTHUR E. KRICK.

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